Hey everyone! Happy Costumes and Candy Day! For my final post of the week, we have the Behind the Scenes Writing Tag which I got from the a...

Hey everyone! Happy Costumes and Candy Day! For my final post of the week, we have the Behind the Scenes Writing Tag which I got from the awesome Heather from Sometimes I’m a Story. Thank you so much for tagging me, Heather!

*searches through tag* There are no rules. THERE ARE NO RULES. I love it already.

Anyways. Moving on now.

Is there a certain snack you like to eat while writing?

Negative. One (or at least this one) cannot eat and write at the same time when one needs both hands free for full creativity. However, I will sometimes have a drink standing by.

When do you normally write? Night, afternoon, or morning?

So, I technically schedule my writing for the evening and the night, but sometimes I don’t finish it all or I find something else to do or I procrastinate madly. Then (because I’m homeschooled and I can if I want to) I play catchup in the morning.

Thus, the short answer: either the evening or the morning. ;)

Where do you write?

Generally, in my bedroom at my desk. Though sometimes I’ll lay on the floor with my laptop. On top of a mat and a pillow, it’s actually shockingly comfortable.

At one point, though, I did hand-write a story while sitting in my library. I felt very, very writerly doing that.

How often do you write a new novel?

I used to do them a lot more often (in 2013, I finished five), but lately I’ve been working a lot more on editing. So in the last year, I’ve only finished two, I think. That said, I don’t really have a specific timeframe--just start one when I can and write it till it’s finished--and I don’t see a new novel anywhere in my near future since I’m doing short stories for NaNo (WHICH STARTS TOMORROW!!!!!) instead of a full novel.

Do you listen to music while you write?

Um, yes! Is it even possible to write without music?

(Incidentally, I don’t have music on right now as I write this post. This is a problem. *opens YouTube* *finds Anthem Lights song* *settles back with contented sigh* Ah. That’s better.)

What do you write on? Laptop or paper?

Generally, laptop; however, like I mentioned above, I have handwritten before. I prefer my laptop though because speed, but there’s also something very special and writerly about handwriting. It is very, very cool to hold your finished manuscript written in your own hand in your own hands.

Found this one on my computer. Not sure where I got it, but I love it <3

Is there a special ritual you have before or after you write?

Open youtube. Start music. Freewrite for ten minutes, then dive into real work.

Except that’s not actually true because sometimes I open iTunes, and occasionally, like today, I forget to have music on at all. Plus, sometimes I don’t feel like freewriting and I’m eager to just dive into whatever project I’m working on.

All that to say, I am terribly unpredictable, and therefore rituals do not work for me.

What do you do to get into the mood to write?

Butt in chair. Fingers on keyboard. Commence writing.

What is always near the place you write?

Like I said, I am an unpredictable human being and a dreadful paradox, so the only sure things to be near me are my bookshelf, which sits right beside my desk, and my stuffed animals, which sit on the couch on the other side of my desk. Anything else is completely debatable and depends entirely upon the day and the time you happen to catch me writing.

Do you have a reward system for your word count?

The word count. Seeing that number grow is a reward in and of itself. ;)

But sometimes if there’s something I really wanna do, I’ll make that my reward. Like while I was working on the blog post before this (a book review for Navigating Early), I noticed I had a review for one of my fanfiction.net stories, and I told myself I could not read my review until I finished the rough draft of the book review. Also, sometimes music is distracting for me (like I said, dreadful paradox, and this is completely unpredictable: one minute I’ll be jamming and writing simultaneously; the next, the song’s awesomeness is distracting me and I cannot write anything because I am too busy listening). Then I’ll tell myself to turn off the music and I’m not allowed turn it back on until after I finish writing.

So yeah, most of the time, the reward is the word count. Other times, I’ll have a certain something that I happen to want at that moment and will not allow myself until after the writing is complete.

Is there anything about your writing process that others might not know about?

Probably. But I can’t think of anything right now and, as I am rather unpredictable and paradoxical, there’s probably a lot about my writing process that even I don’t know.

And with that strange, nonsensical answer, I declare this tag complete. *bows*

***

Well, that was fun, lol. Thanks again Heather for tagging me!

I’m not tagging anyone today, because I’ve seen this one floating around so much that I feel like basically everybody has done it. But if you haven’t done it and you want to, there *waves magic sword* Consider yourself tagged.

So what’s something about yourwriting process that I might not know about? Do you listen to music while writing? Do you have a third hand so you can eat and type quickly at the same time? Where’d you get it? Please tell me for I dearly love to eat.

Include a picture of your bookshelf, if possible, or you could include pictures of your dream shelf.

I like these rules. Nice and simple. However, I will not actually post a picture of my entire bookshelf, because it’s sort of behind my bed, which makes it somewhat difficult to get to and even more difficult to take a full picture of. Still, I’ll at least include a picture of the top shelf where I actually keep most of the books:

And there it is. On to the questions!

Describe your bookshelf (or wherever it is you keep your books—it doesn’t actually have to be a shelf!)

As mentioned (and shown) above, I do actually have a bookshelf. But one thing I think I should say is thatI do not actually own very many books. Although we have several bookshelves in our house, the books that are actually mine and I keep in my room only take up about one shelf. The rest of the books you hear me raving about are from the library or kindle copies, and the rest of the shelves on my bookshelf are filled with notebooks, art supplies, and miscellaneous papers and knickknacks I haven’t done anything with yet.

What’s the thickest (most amount of pages) book on your shelf?

That would be Night World No. 1 by L. J. Smith. I won it in my library’s reading program two summers ago and have yet to get around to reading it. I’m pretty sure it has something to do with vampires though.

What’s the thinnest (least amount of pages) book on your shelf?

Heartsongs by Mattie Stepanek. It’s a poetry book and comes in at only 32 pages, but every poem in it is beautiful <3

Is there a book you received as a birthday gift?

Tiger’s Promise by Colleen Houck and The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill. I got those on my kindle for my birthday last year, and, as my kindle is on my bookshelf, I believe that counts. *nods*

What’s the smallest (height and width wise) book on your shelf?

The Tale of the Talking Dog and other Stories for You To Write by Rebecca Gomez. I’m not sure about the exact dimensions (and I’m far too lazy to look them up), but it’s a pretty thin, slightly-larger-than-pamphlet-sized book and it’s maybe half an inch shorter than most of the books on my shelf. My mom bought it for me a few years ago, when I first got really interested in writing.

What’s the biggest (height and width wise) book on your shelf?

Funny tidbit, my really tall ones also seem to be really thin. So I’ll just give you my tallest one since I already mentioned the widest one above: Mastering Manga with Mark Crilley is the tallest book on my shelf, I got it for Christmas last year, and it is really awesome if you’re interested in drawing Manga-style art.

Is there a book from a friend on your shelf?

Kailey by Amy Goldman Ross. It’s an American Girl book, and an old friend of mine gave it to me years ago, when I was like 9 or 10.

Most expensive book?

Dude, I have no idea. Like I said, I don’t buy books often. But I recently got a pretty old-looking copy of The Brothers Grimm: One Hundred Fairy Tales from my library. It looks pretty and it looks antique, which generally translates as expensive, so I’m going to go with that one and call it good.

The last book you read on your shelf?

I am currently reading Resonance by S. Alex Martin (the bottom one whose spine is turned away from the camera. Sorry about that, guys). But I just finished Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool (the top one whose spine is turned away from the camera, still sorry), and I think it's my new favorite historical EVER.

Of all the books on your shelf, which was the first you read?

Laylie’s Daring Quest by Kersten Hamilton. I’m not sure how young I was when I read that one, but probably somewhere between the 7-9 range.

Do you have more than one copy of a book?

Only two: I have two copies of Captives (second one isn't shown) and Outcasts by Jill Williamson. The second Outcast is on my Kindle, though. Actually, I might have three copies of Captives... *rethinks that* Wait, no. Nevermind. It's two.

Do you have the complete series of any book series?

I have the full Safe Lands series, the full Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series, and the full Dragons In Our Midst series. And yes, I listed them in the Order of Which Series I Like Best. Safe Lands is possibly my favorite dystopian ever (because Zane, okay?), Skylar Hoyt is amazing and reading her story really helped me during the mid-teen years of my life, and the Dragons In Our Midst series was one of my first fantasies. So yeah. Completely irrelevant backstory over.

What’s the newest addition to your shelf?

I just picked up the first Avatar comics from the library. As far as books I actually own, I recently bought Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John from my library’s used book section. I’ve read it before, and it’s super good (though, caution: there is some cursing)

What book has been on your shelf FOREVER?

Probably Dragons In Our Midst again. I would say my Little House On The Prairie series, but they’re not on my shelf right now. In fact, I need to go find those... WHO STOLE MY LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE BOOKS????

Ahem. Moving on.

What’s the most recently published book on your shelf?

Resonance again! It just came out less than a month ago actually. On the 16th of October.

The oldest book on your shelf (as in, the actual copy is old)?

Erm, I don’t really know. Probably that copy of the Brothers Grimm. It’s copyrighted 1980, so it’s probably not as expensive as I thought, but I’m not going back to change that answer. Most of my other books are pretty new though (like at least in the last 20 years), so I don’t think I have any older than that anyway.

A book you won?

Hehe, I’ve actually won a lot of books online. Like in the past year, I’ve literally won somewhere between five and ten online contests. I am really lucky for some reason.

But anyways, just to name two: Colored Highlights and Drifting Shadows and Writers’ Colors and Dreams both by Ophelia-Marie Flowers. I won them from her blog giveaway a couple of months ago.

A book you’d hate to let out of your sight (aka a book you’d never let someone borrow)?

I kind of have a problem with letting people borrow my books unless I really trust them--the people, that is--but I don’t know if there are any books that I would absolutely never let anyone borrow. Except maybe my copy of Bluefish by Pat Schmatz because that is basically my favorite contemporary ever and it is autographed by the author: she stumbled upon my raving review on Christmas Day, then sent me a signed copy of the book that says really nice things about me. All that long backstory to say, I really love that book and I don’t think anybody will ever touch it. *holds book to chest* It is mine.

Most beat up book?

I actually take really good care of my books, if I do say so myself, so I don’t think any of them are really that beatup. Some might have food stains in them though. Because there is nothing like drinking a hot beverage (coffee, tea, or hot chocolate), snacking on something sweet, and reading your favorite book.

Most pristine book?

Probably those on my kindle.

A book from your childhood?

I already mentioned Laylie and Little House on the Prairie (which is technically STILL not on my shelf), so I’ll go with the Adventures of the Northwoods series by Lois Walfrid Johnson. I have the first five books, and they’re more like stories from my preteens than my childhood, but they’re as close as we’re gonna get right now, and I really want to mention them. So.

A book that’s not actually your book?

All the library ones of which there are at least 10, possibly more.

A book with a special/different cover (e.g. leather bound, soft fuzzy cover etc.)?

I am a total girly girl in this respect and my favorite color is pink. So the only ones that have a lot of pink are Laylie, Colored Highlights, and Spring by Mark Crilley.

A book that’s been on your shelf the longest that you STILL haven’t read?

So like 3 years ago I won Children of the Lamp by P. B. Kerr in my library’s summer reading program, and I still haven’t read it. I’ve meant to, but there are always new books or library books or fanfiction or something else that I can read and I just haven’t gotten around to it. Sorry Children.

HOWEVER. I did let my brother read it, and he enjoyed it. So it hasn’t just been sitting forlornly on the shelf for the past 3 and a half years; it has had the chance to be read and enjoyed.

Any signed books?

I actually have several and I’m quite thrilled about them all: My entire Safe Lands series is signed as is Bluefish, of course, and my copy of Resonance. *hugs books* My precious babies.

I’m going to add a question just because I feel like answering it, but you do not have to use this one if you do the tag:

Do you have an equal amount from every genre or does your bookshelf lean more towards one specification or another?

I have mostly fiction with an emphasis on speculative, though I do have several contemporaries, along with a spattering of historicals, art books, poetry books, and writing instruction books.

***

And that’s the tag! That one was really long, but really fun. Thanks again for tagging me, Liz!

For my part, I nominate Koko, Bailey, and Anne Marie. But if I didn’t nominate you and you want to do the tag, feel free. :)

So what’s your bookshelf look like? Pick one or two of the above questions and answer them in the comments! I’m off to find my Little House books, but I shall return to reply to comments later. Ciao!

11:49 AM

So, this post was supposed to go up yesterday, but it didn’t because it was my birthday and I was feeling lazy. Let’s all just pretend it d...

So, this post was supposed to go up yesterday, but it didn’t because it was my birthday and I was feeling lazy. Let’s all just pretend it did, though. :)

***

Hello peoples! Random note: it is my 18th birthday! *throws confetti and eats cake* Though I’m not sure whether to be excited about the fact that I am legally a grown-up or cry because I don’t want to adult.

More specifically, I’m the cackly, evil kind who’d love to rip her readers’ hearts out, burn them, and dance on the ashes, but also experiences intense pain when she hurts her characters. So I’m generally both cackling and mentally crying at the same time. I am a dreadful paradox.

When Did You Start Writing? What Made You Want To Try It?

This is actually kind of a long story, but to make it short: I was about 5 or 6 when I wrote my first story, and I don’t remember why I did it. Just wanted to, I guess.

Fast forward to 14, I’ve been writing on and off for the past 8 years, but after moving four states away from my hometown, writing became an outlet for my thoughts and emotions. Then my mom recommended NaNoWriMo to me, and I gave it a go because I literally had nothing else to do with my life. But I’m glad I didn't because NaNo was a blast, I adored my story, and I’ve been writing ever since.

What Inspires Your Stories?

Everything.

Seriously though. I can literally find inspiration anywhere: from another story to a song to a movie or a tv show, from the people I know to the people I don’t know, from long dissertations to random snippets of conversation. I just keep my ears and eyes open, and the next thing I know, BAM. Inspiration.(That was not intentional, but I just realized a lot of it rhymed. Maybe I should write a poem... Anywho)

So yeah, short answer is everything and anything can and has inspired my stories.

What Themes Do You Like To Explore In Your Writing?

Depends on the story. I’ve done everything from the kind of common love-and-forgiveness story to coming-of-age to the human psyche and mental illness. I just like exploring all themes and ideas, and once something grabs my interest, I just write about it, exploring the concept through words until I feel like I understand it or at least have a handle on how I feel about it.

Are You A Pantser, A Plotter, or A Bit Of Both?

Almost entirely pantser, but I have tried to plot a bit before writing some of my stories.

Where Are You At In Your Writing Journey? Querying? Agenting? Published?

(Funny story, when I was typing this out, I accidentally wrote “questing” instead of “querying” and that just seemed strangely accurate to me, lol. But moving on)

I’ve bounced between editing and querying for the last two years or so but right now, I’m back to querying.

Have You Ever Entered Any Writing Contests? Finaled? Won?

I have entered a LOT of writing contests, lol. But I’ve only finaled in the GTW ones (which count in my opinion), and I won a contest that S. Alex Martin did on his blog (which I also say counts, and it is my birthday, so you have to agree with me.)

Who Are Your Writer Heroes?

Sorry, but I really don’t know, lol. There are just too many amazing authors. Like I could basically sit here all day and just list my various writing heroes for various reasons. Writers are amazing, guys.

Have You Ever Been To A Writing Conference? Share Your Best and Worse Experiences.

Never been. Will someday. Talk to you then.

Top 3 Tips You’d Give To Newbie Writers:

Ahahaha, I’m not really sure I’m the best person to go to for advice, so disclaimer: use at your own risk. But I’m pretty sure these are good. Mostly because I’ve heard them elsewhere but whatever:

1. Write. You’re a writer if you write. That’s all there is to it.

2. Don’t worry, you’ll get there eventually.

3. Don’t compare yourself to other writers.Like I said in the second tip, you’ll get there eventually, and there was a time when those great writers were exactly where you are right now.

It’s like this quote I saw once: don’t compare your chapter 1 to someone else’s chapter 20. Those big dogs who have million-dollar contract deals (do those exist for books?) have been at this way longer than us newbies, so it seems like they’ve got it all together and their writing is perfect. But one, they probably don’t; two, it isn’t; and three, if we keep at it, we’ll get better and we’ll make it there eventually. :)

*nods* I did five. I feel accomplished. And if you wanna do the tag and I didn’t tag you, here you go *tosses it at you* Feel free to steal it from me. :D

Comment time! What advice would you give a newbie writer? Have you ever been to a writers’ conference? Pick some of the other questions above and answer them in the comments! I’d love to hear from you all. :D

Hiya!

Alexandria, better known as Alex or Alexa, is a strange Christian-fangirl-YA-writer medley tucked away in an undisclosed location in Virginia. She loves creating worlds out of keystrokes, discovering adorable ships (platonic or romantic), and becoming besties with clever characters who wow her with smarts and sass.